New Trier gets past Stevenson in D-C title game

It was another step forward for Stevenson's girls basketball team simply by reaching the championship game of the 33rd annual Charger Classic hosted by Dundee-Crown.

That got the Patriots the opportunity to play one of the best teams in the state.

And Stevenson was right with the competition most of the way — before New Trier turned up the intensity and went on to beat the Patriots 58-42 for the tournament title.

Ashley Richardson led the Patriots (12-2 overall, 3-1 in the tournament) with a game-high 20 points and 6 rebounds. Teammate Klaire Steffens added 11 points.

New Trier (14-3, 4-0) had two players make the 20-point mark — Jeannie Boehm finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and teammate Autumn Kalis canned four 3s and also had 20.

The Patriots weren't at all disappointed with a runner-up finish in this year's Charger Classic.

“It means a lot (to us),” Stevenson coach Ashley Graham said. “We played three excellent basketball teams, and New Trier is exceptional, a veteran basketball team that went downstate last year.

“I thought we went toe-to-toe with them for a long time.”

Stevenson got off to a good start. The Patriots jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first few minutes before New Trier got on the board.

But the Trevians put together a 12-3 run capped by a Kalis 3 for a 12-6 lead with 1:32 left.

Richardson brought the Patriots back within a point by sinking a trey during a 5-0 Stevenson run that cut the lead to 12-11 after the opening quarter.

“We knew coming out against New Trier, it would be a tough game,” said Richardson, who had 13 points in the opening half. “At the beginning, I was feeling good and I was scoring a lot in the first half.”

Stevenson evened the game at 16-16 on a Steffens 3 with 3:43 remaining in the second quarter.

Again New Trier answered, putting together a 10-4 run to finish the quarter as Boehm scored 7 of the 10 points to give the Trevians a 26-20 lead at the break.

New Trier extended the lead early in the third quarter with a 7-2 spurt and led 44-32 lead heading into the final quarter.

Stevenson tried to recover in the final period but couldn't get closer than 9 points.

New Trier wraps up a stretch in which it has played nine games in two weeks. They'd already competed in a holiday tournament in Arizona last week.

“We kept strong and kept focused,” New Trier coach Teri Rodgers said. “It's a testament to our conditioning and a testament to our depth. (Stevenson) is a great team and well-coached. Her kids are always going to come out and play really hard. They played well defensively.”

Richardson and Jessica Burke were Stevenson's selections to the all-tournament team, while New Trier's were Boehm, Kalis and Kathryn Pedl.